There’s never a bad season to visit Italy.  But Autumn might just be the best.

Temperatures are cooler and the crowds are thinner.  Rates of fare for restaurants and hotels are often scaled back a bit.  And the beautiful scenery is an ample offset to the slightly increased possibility of rain, depending on which part of the country you are visiting.

Autumn is also harvest time and offers a chance for unprecedented eating and drinking experiences.  Unfiltered olive oil fresh from the fields, the white truffles in the market, porcini mushrooms, the Italian version of Beaujolais nouveau:   , historically released for sale onNovember 6, but of late made available on the second-to-last day of October.  Cooler weather means more Italian comfort foods on the menu, such as lasagna al forno; polenta with an array of sauces; ribollita soup and a plethora of meat dishes.  

And fall festivals?  You bet.  Each varies according to region, but you’ll find Autumn-timed festivals celebrating the Pomaria, or Apple; the Grape Festival; the Eurochocolate Festival in Perugia; the Cheese and Truffle Festivals in Piedmont; Tuscany’s Olive Oil Festival and more.  Marche opens its Opera season in September as well as the two weeks of Festa San Nicola whose remains are held at the Basilica there.  And of course, Halloween, which is by and large an American traditional holiday but is nonetheless celebrated in many places in Italy.  Don’t forget the Zucca—pumpkin—dishes that will be gracing menus all across the country.

When planning your trip and packing to go, just remember autumn weather can be variable.  The further south you go, the warmer and drier autumn tends to be.  Further north, it will get colder.  Keep going north, and sometime in the fall there’s no doubt you’ll see snow.

Anywhere you’re going, you’ll find Sensazioni d’autunno—that definitely Italian Autumn mood.